Newspaper Wants Tax on Broadband to Save Failing Newspapers > Business Plan

reply to drew

Re: Business Plan

That's a cop out answer

Everyone has an opinion on what's not the solution but nothing about what the solution is.

The solution is a series of micro-solutions by an unfathomable amount of sources. Decisions by each of the reporters to contribute better content and create a better product. Decisions by the management to direct their people to make a better product. Decisions by executive management to decide how to drive their business into a modern era. Decisions by the consumer on how they want to see their news and what types of news they want to see. Decisions by competitive news organizations to be innovative and attack outdated business models that cannot survive. The list goes on. The list of events that sways this one or another is what drives the economy, speculation, stock markets, etc. If we knew this information, we could make investments accordingly and profit heavily.

This is the "sit on my hands" solution that says we need not intervene. We simply need to sit back and observe. News isn't dying. A company is dying and it arrogantly thinks it is an industry when it is not. It can adapt, or die.
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A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong enough to take everything you have. -MLK

reply to drew
Simply put, as the consumer it is not up to us to find a solution. While I fully agree news is good (don't repeat history and all that) we are not the ones selling the product. Like any other business, it is up to the company to figure out how to make it viable. If I don't buy TV's anymore, it's not up to me to figure out how to make them profitable. Right now the company is trying various ideas, like paywalls, that are generally failing. Now they are trying to get subsidized and well, will fail as well. Time for them to figure out something new, not me.

reply to drew
It's not a cop out. It's truth. It's not our job to find a solution, we don't own a newspaper. I'm not even remotely worried about it, because I don't live in some fantasy land where some big newspaper fails and then somehow I never ever ever again get news.

And paying a tax to "save" them from the destruction they deserve if they can't create a product others want to PAY for, is outrageous.

It's awfully generous of you to offer your time and ideas to saving a failing business, but if they want mine..... I want a paycheck.

Typical news (be it local, national, tech, whatever) commenter attitude. Quick to berate an idea but has nothing to offer instead.